Kukla's Korner Hockey

A popular figure, McCreary had headed the NHL Alumni Association and his funeral widely was attended by well-known hockey names, including former Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn.

On that day in December 2003, police allege that Ramage was driving a rented Chrysler Intrepid that apparently crossed the lanes of the roadway and collided almost head on with an SUV travelling in the opposite direction.

Magnuson, in the passenger’s seat, didn’t survive the crash. He would have turned 60 this year.

And the Montreal Canadiens have taken the trend one step further by exposing their players to a stickhandling coach.

“You look at the great players and they were all great stickhandlers,” said Sean Skinner, who goes on to recite a litany of greats starting with Maurice Richard and Gordie Howe and continuing through Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux to contemporary stars like Joe Sakic, Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.

Garnet “Ace” Bailey was a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Boston Bruins in 1968 and 1970. He ended his hockey career mentoring a young star with the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association named Wayne Gretzky. It was on September 11th, 2001 that the National Hockey League lost a loyal servant.

Mark Bavis was a scout with the Los Angeles Kings working under Ace Bailey in the organization. Both Bavis and Bailey were traveling from Boston to Los Angeles for training camp when Flight 275 crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

“It was obviously a tremendous accomplishment,” defenseman Chris Pronger said of the Ducks’ first Cup title. “At that point, you feel it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event. But now you’ve got to push yourselves even harder now.

“You’ve got an even bigger target on your back. Everybody’s going to be shooting for you, being the Stanley Cup champions.”

There is one goal left—one that only two teams have achieved in the last 20 years.

Last season was all that anyone would have expected of Roberto Luongo, who carried his team to a division title and was runner-up for the Vezina and Hart Trophies in the process.

But his biggest accomplishment was the hope that he gave the franchise. So what does Luongo do for an encore?

“There’s always room for improvement,” he told reporters on Monday. “The more experience you get, the better you become. The harder you work in practice and better your game in aspects you know you can be better at, that’s how you improve yourself.”

Brick native Jim Dowd won’t be back with the Devils this season. Instead, the 38-year-old center has accepted an invitation to attend training camp with the Philadelphia Flyers. A source said that though the Flyers did not sign Dowd, an unrestricted free agent, because they don’t have salary cap room, they have promised him an opportunity to make the team as their fourth-line center.

When asked about a report on the weekend that said the former coach had recently contacted the NHL team about a job — but not the senior consultant position he was offered three months ago — Bowman said he hasn’t talked to the Maple Leafs since June.

Instead, Bowman said he told Detroit Red Wings owner Mike Illitch and general manager Ken Holland in June that he would return for a 15th season with that team.

“I really want to stay with Detroit,” said Bowman, who will turn 74 in a week. “When I went there 14 years ago to coach, I really wanted this to be my last stop.”

NYR.com: Now that you play for the Rangers, did you find you were treated differently by people up there (Cape Cod)?

Shanahan: I played nine seasons with the Red Wings, and now that I’m a Ranger I get recognized way more (in Cape Cod) than during my nine years there in Detroit. I think the way I used to leave in September and come in the summer, people used to think I was a school teacher. But playing on the East Coast now and playing in New York, the secret’s out among my neighbors as to what I do for a living.

Starting Monday, Sept. 10, NHL.com is the place to be for hockey fans as we roll out the most exhaustive preview on the 2007-08 NHL season you will find anywhere.

Once again, NHL.com will spotlight an Eastern and Western Conference team each day.

Each team preview will provide a comprehensive look at a club’s goaltending, defense and forward units. In addition, NHL.com’s John Kreiser will break down pertinent stats for each team. And NHL.com’s staff of writers, led by Evan Grossman, Shawn Roarke and John McGourty, also will shine the spotlight on intriguing personalities throughout the League.

New York Rangers: No team made a bigger splash in the free-agent market than the Rangers. And having added twin centers Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, expectations are higher for the Rangers than at any time since their 1994 Stanley Cup win. Drury and Gomez have three Stanley Cup rings between them and give the team terrific depth down the middle. With Brendan Shanahan (29 goals in his first season on Broadway) back, the Rangers should boast two dangerous forward lines to complement sterling goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist, who was 37-22-8 in his sophomore season in the Rangers nets.

Burning questions
• So, which of Gomez or Drury gets the job of making magic with Jagr?
• Is this no-name defense strong enough to win a Stanley Cup?
• With Weekes gone, does highly touted goaltending prospect Al Montoya get a chance to strut his stuff on the big stage?